Oneness and permanence
Al-Aḥad ٱلْأَحَد
The Unique One who has no second of any kind — not in essence, not in attribute.
19 āyāt · 5 sūrahs · root ا ح د
Why Allah uses this name
Ibn Kathīr notes al-Aḥad negates any partner or comparable whatsoever, going beyond numerical oneness; it is the answer given when the Prophet ﷺ was asked to describe his Lord.
Take this with you
Do not picture Him. Know Him by what He revealed of Himself.
The polytheists said: Describe your Lord to us — so Allah revealed 'Say: He is Allah, One; Allah, the Eternal Refuge…'
Sunan al-Tirmidhī 3364; cited by Ibn Kathīr on 112:1
Where it appears in the Qur'an
Counted from the muṣḥaf text as served by the Quran.com API. A few occurrences describe someone other than Allah; read the āyah in place to see which.
18. Sūrat Al-Kahf الكهف
8 āyahs
āyah 19, 22, 26, 38, 42, 47, 49, 110
72. Sūrat Al-Jinn الجن
5 āyahs
āyah 2, 7, 18, 20, 26
89. Sūrat Al-Fajr الفجر
2 āyahs
āyah 25, 26
90. Sūrat Al-Balad البلد
2 āyahs
āyah 5, 7
112. Sūrat Al-Ikhlāṣ الإخلاص
2 āyahs
āyah 1, 4
Names close to this one
Allāh ٱللَّٰه
The proper name of the Divine Being: the One truly worshipped, to whom every other name returns as a description.
Al-Ḥaqq ٱلْحَقّ
The Truth: the One whose being and whose word are real, beside whom everything called upon is false.
Al-Ḥayy ٱلْحَىّ
The Ever-Living: life that never began and never ends, the ground of every other life.
Al-Qayyūm ٱلْقَيُّوم
The Sustainer of all existence: self-subsisting, and the One by whom everything else subsists.
Al-Wājid ٱلْوَاجِد
The Finder who lacks nothing: everything He wills is present to Him, and nothing escapes Him.
Al-Wāḥid ٱلْوَٰحِد
The One: single in His essence, attributes and right to be worshipped.
Aṣ-Ṣamad ٱلصَّمَد
The Eternal Refuge: the One everything turns to in need, who needs nothing Himself.
Al-Awwal ٱلْأَوَّل
The First: nothing preceded Him.